A scenario to factor in is water shortage. Rather than keeping all dried foods which require water for reconstituting or cooking, keep an equal amount of canned food. Canned items should include meats, fruits, soups, juices and vegetables. Not only do canned goodss require little or no cooking or water, they provide a change in texture and taste, and supply some liquid to the body.

In times of disaster, it's important to keep food and beverage
choices as normal as possible. If your diet consisted of lots
of Italian food, stock up on stewed tomatoes, pasta, grated cheese
and spices. This is not a time for a lot of experimentation.

When purchasing items to be stockpiled, make sure you know how to prepare these foods. If you're including new items, become familiar these products before disaster strikes. We won't need the added stress of fixing/digesting unfamiliar foods. If you've stored large quantities of legumes because it's convenient and economical, and later find out you can't look another bean in the face, it's best to discover this in advance. Practice making entire meals with only selections from your stored foods. You may find certain items have been omitted for preparation. It will also give you confidence cooking this food when you're already stressed.

Disasters are a time to be kind to yourself. If you're a big fan of Snickers, include some with your stored items. If you really like bananas, try dried banana chips. They're lightweight, a good source of potassium, sweet and last longer than their fresh counterpart.THE KEY to any good storage plan IS purchase high quality foods, store foods you like and always ROTATE YOUR GOODS. As they near expiration, rotate them into your regular meals and replenish your stored supply. Common sense will go a long way to help plan food selections.

If the expiration date is missing, mark the top of each can or
package with the date of purchase. Consult the Shelf Life Table for suggested expiration dates. Extending the shelf life will stretch your food storage $$.

The most basic food plan is the Mormon Basic Four from the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'. You may want to use it
as a starting point and build from there since it is the backbone
of numerous other survival programs.

MORMON TABLE OF FOUR - ONE PERSON

FOOD

MIN/MAX IN
POUNDS

MIN/MAX IN
KILOS

SHELF LIFE

COMMENTS

Wheat

200-365

91-166

Indefinite

Hard Red, packed in nitrogen

Powdered Milk

60-100

27-45

1-5 yrs.

None

Sugar or honey

35-100

16-45

Indefinite

Keep sugar dry and pest free

Salt

1-12

.5-5.4

Indefinite

More is needed for preserving

These four will NOT make a good diet nor a very interesting one,
but it will keep you alive. At a minimum, vitamins and mineral
supplements as well as a source of fat and oil should be added.

The Mormon 4 was created to provide one year of food at low cost
with a very long shelf life. Part of the Mormon faith stipulates
that all families should have at least one year's food supply
in storage. The next page lists their suggestions in more detail.